About The People's Choice Award

The People's Choice Award is a great way to raise profile with customers and suppliers, and to get associates, friends and family involved, cheering you on and showing their support. Have a bit of fun along the way!

Here are some answers to commonly asked questions. If you have any others, just let us know.

How do I enter The People's Choice Award?

Just fill in an entry form and select the People's Choice option from the list of categories to enter. Your entry will automatically display a voting button once submitted.

Who will see my entry?

If you have entered the People's Choice Award, a part of your entry (see next question) will be visible to anyone who visits The David Awards website. This will include members of the public and anyone who you persuade to vote for you.

What information will a voter be able to see about my business?

We display only your business name, your name, your town or city, and the information entered into the People's Choice Award category section of your entry to potential voters. Because you are logged in and are the entrant, you will see all the information you have typed into the form at once. If you want to see how it will display to voters, log out and view your entry. (You can do this by copying the URL at the top of the page when you are logged in and pasting it into your browser address bar once you have logged out).

Can I enter just The People's Choice Award?

Yes, there's no obligation to enter any other category. If you wish, you can enter up to three other categories in addition to the People's Choice Award.

How do I get people to vote for me?

We will send you an email with information about downloading voting buttons, banners and a link, so you can promote your entry. Use your social networks, email signature, web site, etc. to encourage others to vote for you. The more work you put into persuading others to show their support, the more votes you are likely to get. We also encourage members of the public to vote, and direct them to a list of all entries in the People's Choice category. The only information these people will have about your business is likely to be what you write in your entry, so make it as informative and interesting as possible.

How many times can someone vote?

In order to minimise the risk of double voting, our system allows only one vote per entry to be recorded from each IP address. While we realise this does mean that in some cases it will make it difficult for more than one person to vote using the same IP address, we feel this is better than leaving the voting system wide open to abuse. If you are having difficulty adding a vote to an entry for this reason, we suggest using a different IP address. This can often even be a WiFi hotspot, library or internet cafe.

What happens if someone tries to vote twice for an entry?

It is possible to click twice on the "vote" button, and the system may tell you it is "saving your vote" - however, if there is already a vote for that entry in the database, that second vote is discarded.

Can I change my vote?

Once your vote is recorded, it cannot be changed. You can continue to vote for other businesses which have entered, but not for eny business you have already voted for.

Can I vote for myself?

Every IP address gets one vote. How you use it is up to you. It's a fair guess that most entrants will vote for themselves, so why shouldn't you?

Who knows who voted for whom?

Your IP address is recorded, but you do not need to log in to vote. Entrants have no idea who voted for them, or even how many votes they received. Even the administrators of The David Awards website only see an IP address which is meaningless, they see no personal details or anything else to identify you. The judges are not involved with and do not have access to any data about The People's Choice Awards.

Who wins the People's Choice Award?

The winner is the entry with the most votes. Our Judges are not involved in judging this category. It is what is says - chosen by "the people".

What past entrants say

As a small business owner it’s very easy to forget and celebrate how far you’ve come because we often think about the future, what’s next and take time to stop, pause and reflect. Also entering the awards allowed us to assess all our systems and processes as to how effective and efficient they are, and by spending time “on the business” rather than “in” allowed us to further tighten our systems and foster new ideas that can be used.

Oh – and winning the Supreme Award and the trophy was terrific too!!!

Sachie Nomura

Sachie's Kitchen, Supreme Winner, The David Awards 2012

I would recommend any small business to enter the David Awards. Winning the Supreme Award was both an honour and surprise, it’s great to be recognised for doing what you love every day.

The whole Pure SEO team gathered in the boardroom to watch the results on the big screen, the reaction when we won was amazing – the entire team were extremely proud.

We have since used momentum from the win to build and grow our business even more.

Richard Conway

Pure SEO, Supreme Winner. The David Awards 2013

Entering the awards allowed us to look at our business from a different angle, celebrate our success and identify areas for improvement. We've come a long way from a suburban garage in Palmerston North... We still both work from home, enjoying the flexible lifestyle rewards; but also the challenges of running what is now a multi-million dollar business with pre-school aged kids sitting underneath the desks and playing in the offices.

The Supreme award was a delightful addition [to the Lifestyle and Transitional awards] and we're sure that we will receive incalculablebenefits from receiving the award

Joe Hesmondhalgh

GroutPro, Supreme Winner, The David Awards 2011

Firstly, it allowed us to apply for an award in the true context of our present situation, that of the little battler struggling to emerge from amongst giants. With most awards this aspect is downplayed. In the case of the David Awards it is celebrated.

Secondly, the categories are reflective of the genuine stages faced by startups. Like the above, this allows us to present ourselves frankly and candidly and be judged in a small business context absent the pressure and sophisticated PR of larger operations. […] That we are privileged to have received this award means we can, on our website and other marketing material and in conversation, drop in the fact that we are 'winners'.

To have been externally judged and found meritorious, especially in a place as small as NZ, is very valuable. We will lean on this honour for years to come.

Winning the 2010 Supreme Award secured us some great publicity as well as additional credibility with new customers.

The whole David Awards experience also gave me confidence and impetus to really push forward in overseas markets. As a result we have recently experienced some encouraging success breaking into the Australian market and we’re building a successful relationship with a UK partner.

Jackie Rive

Brookby Herbs, Supreme Winner, The David Awards 2010.

We are just so humbled by this result. We never expected to win both the categories we entered, let alone the top prize. We are blown away by this recognition, and by the feedback we are receiving from our community.

Just entering The David Awards was an opportunity to reflect on what our team has done in our short time as a company, and celebrate many small achievements where we have helped people. It’s brought our team closer together and reminded me personally why I started this business.

To be a finalist was an honour in and of itself. To win Most Outstanding Fledgling Business and Most Community-Minded Business is so humbling. To win the Supreme Award as well… I’m almost at a loss for words.

Blair Ashdowne

Heat Pumps NOW, Supreme Winner, The David Awards 2015.

I think the entry format is great. the informal nature of the awards ceremony (some of them are just money-making spinners and all a load of hype). Can't wait to get my subscription of NZ Business!

Entrant

2015 post-Awards survey

It's great that there is an awards group for small-medium businesses around NZ where everyone has a chance to show their stuff. It's not industry specific and it's easy to enter. Don't change that aspect.

Entrant

2015 post-Awards survey

I can confidently say the David Awards for us was great in terms of great PR, new clients (even this week we got a client who saw our article in NZ Business after we won), and of course the thrill. But for me, the best part was seeing how my team felt about us winning this together and watching them grow in confidence of who we are and how we do things.

It was an amazing boost within the first two years of business – like any business owner, even when things are going well, there is a huge responsibility to deliver to both your team and to your clients. To celebrate that hard work and know others have seen your success is just the best feeling.